Local government IT will be hit hard as councils cut thousands of jobs in a bid to slash operating costs or turn to outsourcing as an easier way of reducing headcount.

Download this free guide

2018 UK IT Priorities survey results

IT organisations in the UK and across Europe are starting to accelerate the move to the cloud. Read more about the key areas in which senior IT managers are planning to invest in over the next 12 months.

I agree to TechTarget’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and the transfer of my information to the United States for processing to provide me with relevant information as described in our Privacy Policy.

Please check the box if you want to proceed.

I agree to my information being processed by TechTarget and its Partners to contact me via phone, email, or other means regarding information relevant to my professional interests. I may unsubscribe at any time.

Please check the box if you want to proceed.

By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent.

IT is already being cut back, according to the Society of IT managers (Socitm), which revealed a 10% reduction in IT staff during 2009. But even more swingeing cuts could be on the cards. According to a BBC survey, 25,000 jobs in local government could be lost in the next five years. Experts believe the figure could end up being as high as 100,000.

Socitm also said that IT outsourcing would increase,, which will take workers off the public sector payroll. Both IT and business processes will be outsourced.

John Serle, IT trends editor at Socitm, said he expected the job cuts to be across the board in local government, with IT departments suffering similar levels of cuts as other departments.

He added that local authorities would be making a mistake in doing so because IT investments can enable savings in other areas. "People have a crazy way of dealing with [the need to make cuts] in local government and they tend to cut across the board."

When it comes to retaining service levels with fewer resources, IT can actually help, said Serle, through programmes such as automisation of services. "IT is the only show on the road," he added.

He said that outsourcing in local government, which has grown steadily but has never been "spectacular", could increase significantly as jobs disappeared. "Politicians will find it a less painful way of cutting jobs because they will pass it on to the private sector to manage and deal with."

But Mark Lewis, head of outsourcing at law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said many outsourcing service providers would not want to take on the costs associated with rationalising staff inherited from local government.

He said cases such as Beckmann/Martin meant that if workers were transferred from a public sector organisation after reaching a certain age they were entitled to "significantly enhanced" redundancy and pension rights, which would also be transferred to the service provider.

"Outsourcing to cut costs is all about shifting costs off the balance sheet and onto someone else's," said Lewis. "But Local government bodies will have to find suppliers that are prepared to take on high levels of liability."

The public sector IT and business process capabilities could even be spun off to raise money and cut costs.

0 comments

Register

Login

Forgot your password?

Your password has been sent to:

By submitting you agree to receive email from TechTarget and its partners. If you reside outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Privacy